The West Indies legend has committed to The 6ixty, the brainchild of the CPL and Cricket West Indies which will act as a tournament opener on St Kitts between August 24 and 28
Chris Gayle has confirmed he will not feature in this season's Caribbean Premier League.
The West Indies legend has committed to The 6ixty, the brainchild of the CPL and Cricket West Indies which will act as a tournament opener on St Kitts between August 24 and 28. He is an ambassador for the event.
But Gayle's time in the CPL - and by extension perhaps all competitive T20 franchise cricket - is over.
The opener, 42, is one of the most important players in the history of the short format. His 463 appearances, in competitions all over the world, have brought nearly 15,000 runs - and a ridiculous 22 hundreds.
The 6ixty launches in August [supplied]
That record century haul in T20 is 14 tons more than his nearest rivals, Australians Michael Klinger, Aaron Finch and David Warner.
He said in a CPL press release: "I am going for the shorter format this year. I am genuinely excited about the current innovations in The 6ixty and seeing how they play out."
The new tournament features quirky new rules, including the possibility of an extra over of powerplay fielding restrictions if a team hits two sixes in their first 12 balls, and the chance for the crowd to vote on when a random free hit will be inserted into an innings.
The six CPL men's teams and three women's teams will take part in the mini competition. They will be playing for the Universe Boss Trophy, named in honour of Gayle.
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